


Let Me Out

by mercurialtaylor



Series: deception [2]
Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: < sort of, Abuse, Anxiety, Assault, Blood, Controlling Behaviour, Gen, Injury, Manipulation, Panic, Possessive Behaviour, Strangulation, basically. this is not nice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 08:46:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14077215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mercurialtaylor/pseuds/mercurialtaylor
Summary: Logan was not afraid of lies.





	Let Me Out

Logan was not afraid of lies. He knew how they worked, he knew every type and he knew how they were fabricated, and he knew their purpose. Knowledge was power. Wasn’t it?  
__________

Virgil hadn’t come out of his room for most of the day, which was usually a sign that something was wrong. He wasn’t about to risk something happening to his friend, so he made his way upstairs, only stopping when he heard the stairs creak behind him. Turning his head, Logan began to ask “who’s there?”, but no one was. Odd.

Maybe he was just imagining things - after all, he had rather a lot of work right now, so was quite stressed as a result. He shrugged it off, continuing upstairs.

As he reached Virgil’s room, he held up his hand to knock, ignoring the feeling that he was being watched.

“Vir-”

A hand clamped over his mouth and nose, an arm restraining his hands. He couldn’t breathe, which was possibly the most terrifying thing he had ever experienced. Despite knowing he should conserve oxygen, his natural response was to struggle - and he did. Violently. He tried to pull away, tried to free his arms, but he wasn’t strong enough. He was already feeling the effects of oxygen deprivation, his eyes becoming heavy and he movements slower, more sluggish. Still, he managed to aim a kick behind him, hearing a sharp intake of breath as his foot collided with his attacker’s shin.

But they didn’t let go.

Logan didn’t know how long it had been, but he knew his brain was definitely hypoxic. It was too difficult to fight back, and he found himself slumped against the assailant. He couldn't support himself anymore. Thoughts were becoming more fragmented. There was still fight left in him, but not enough oxygen to sustain it. Panic was setting in.

His eyes rolled back into his head, and he was gone.

__________

_Distantly, he became aware of something lifting, and there was great rise. Of what, he couldn’t tell, but his whole body shook from it. There was a laugh, achingly familiar, but at this time unidentifiable, which frustrated him greatly. Knowledge was his greatest asset, but he couldn’t access it. He could only lay here, a witness, trying to sift through the confusing shapes and colours to find something he could understand…_

Logan started awake, sitting upright and colliding immediately with Deceit. Of course it was him - how couldn’t he have seen this before?

“You-” His voice was hoarse, and he could feel a headache coming on. “What did you do?”

He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, nothing. You were just forgetting your place, is all.”

“My place? As if you’re the one controlling me?” He rolled his eyes. “All I was doing was going to help Virg-”

“Exactly. Aren’t you forgetting that he’s one of us?”

Logan scoffed. “Even if he was, he’s not anymore. He’s our friend.”

“Wrong.” Deceit leaned in, covering Logan’s mouth with one hand. “Don’t try to lie to me - I can spot it immediately, I _am_ lies. I can keep you quiet, I can keep you away from him.”

Logan tried to steady his breathing, eyes wide.

“Virgil belongs with me. With us. _To us._ ”

“No,” Logan said, muffled behind Deceit’s hand. “He is his own person.”

A pause. Then, Deceit laughed, clapping his hands. “You’re hilarious!”

“I - what?”

“You think I don’t know? If he’s on your side, you’re more powerful.”

“What’re you talking about?” Logan protested. “That’s not true!”

“Oh, yes it is,” he murmured. “You’re trying to control him.”

“No, I’m not! I would never do that to him!”

Deceit grabbed his arm, fingernails digging into his skin. Logan winced. “Stop lying. You’re feeding him these truths, calming him down, when he needs to be himself. He is _anxiety._ ”

“But-”

“He needs to watch his back. And so do you.” He tightened his grip on Logan’s arm, causing the logical side to squirm in pain. “This is not conducive to a smoothly working system. Thomas is getting too carefree. Stop.”

“If he’s too anxious, he’ll shut down completely. You’re wrong.” Deceit’s nails pierce skin, and he cried out. “Fine! Fine, I’ll stop!”

“Thank you, Logan.” He stood up, cast one more look at Logan, who was clutching his arm, shaking slightly, and sighed. “I don’t _want_ to be the enemy here. You have to cooperate. I’ll be checking up on you, don’t disappoint me.”

“I… I won’t.”

“Good.”

As the door closes, he brought his hand away from his arm, horrified to see spots of blood staining his fingers. This was not what he wanted, or expected, from accepting Virgil. He would hate to push him away - it would hurt him, and Logan, and Thomas, probably all of them - but would it be safer in the long run?

Would Thomas be safer?

He couldn’t tell. No matter how much he puzzled over it, he couldn’t seem to find an answer. Their system ran smoothly enough before they were friends with Virgil, though it seems to be better now they’re family - Roman felt less pressured to push out millions of ideas, Patton knew that he didn’t have to be happy all the time. And Logan felt like he was allowed to take a break and spend time with his friends. He felt like he had someone to talk to when it was difficult for him to be energetic.

But if Deceit was going to hurt his friends, his family, then surely it would be better to do as he says - or did he hold empty threats? Was it worth it to risk it? It’s not like he hasn’t tried this before, but that was before Virgil. Now, with a living breathing person - people - at stake, everything was much less clear. Usually, Logan would brush this off as “ethics”. But it wasn’t not that anymore. It was friendship. Love. Family.

He didn’t know what to do.

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: mercurialhardy


End file.
